Organization and Functions of the Pioneer Manufacturing Section of the Grasselli Chemical Co. Ε. Β . Alvord, N e w P r o d u c t s Division, Grasselli C h e m i c a l C o . , Cleveland, O h i o
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OR some time the Grasselli Chemical Co. has been confronted with the problem of supplying customers and other concerns with appreciable quantities of new chemicals. Usually these ma terials are not articles of commerce, or are made abroad or in some limited way. Sometimes inquiries are received for ma terials which are already manufactured in quantity, but whose characteristics, as made, are not adapted to the customer's particular requirements. Ordinarily, labo ratory samples could be furnished which would take care of experimental needs; but, beyond that, it is necessary to have a more economical and more abundant source of supply. The establishment of a Pioneer Manu facturing Section as part of the Cleveland works was very largely for the purpose of satisfying these requests, which were sometimes embarrassing to an organi zation geared for large-scale production. The Pioneer plant was designed to pro vide a complete assembly of chemical manufacturing unit equipment. It was intended to be as flexible as possible, to the end that practically any type of chemical manufacture could be accom plished by some combination of these units. The major equipment necessary to meet these requirements or to accom plish this purpose is: tanks of various materials of construction, pumps of different types and alloys, filter presses, rotary filters, centrifuges, various types of grinding mills, mechanical screens, driers, indirect- and direct-fired calcining furnaces, reverberatory furnaces, evapo rators, crystallizers, graining kettles, mixers, ball mills, absorption towers, and extrusion equipment. The Pioneer Manufacturing Section is housed in a building provided specifically for the purpose. It is practically selfcontained. Its facilities include railroad siding, control laboratory, storage for raw materials and finished products, packaging equipment, and the usual steam, gas, and water service. Owing to the unusual nature of this plant, several interesting features of
engineering were in corporated in the origi nal design. Since it was difficult, if not impossi ble, to a n t i c i p a t e the exact nature of future operations, the floors, to cite one example, were c o n s t r u c t e d of mastic supported by wood, thus permitting the economi cal construction of open ings through the floor when necessary for in stalling equipment and additional service lines. There are several large e l e v a t o r s capable of handling any size piece of e q u i p m e n t w h i c h might require moving. These elevators connect with a loading platform for trucks. Although many of the units are in a fixed position, others can be moved from one part of the plant to the other in accordance with immediate p r o c e s s re quirements. Thus, for example, all of the pumps h a v e direct-connected motors, are on skids, and have flexible electric connections. Another f e a t u r e is t h e large TYPICAL U N I T PROCESS EQUIPMENT AT THE PIONEER MANUFACnumber of electrical and T O R I N G PLANT OF THE GRASSELLI CHEMICAL C O . other service o u t l e t s , thus facilitating quick hook-ups in any sary in dealing with widely varying opera part of the building. tions. In order to convey some idea of the During the three years that this plant magnitude of this plant, a building 200 X has been in operation, a total of fifty 50 feet, three stories high, is completely products has been manufactured. Of occupied. The capital investment in this number, thirty-five are still in regular building, equipment, and services is ap production. Some are manufactured proximately one-quarter of a million in close cooperation with the development dollars. The personnel required for all Stan's of other companies, and their operations comprises one supervisor, specific nature must necessarily be kept two chemists, and thirty operators. confidential; consequently, it is not The operators are comparatively young possible to enumerate a complete list of men, selected for the versatility necespresent products. However, strontium chloride, potassium silicate, phenothiazine, 2-ethylhexenal, long-chain aliphatic chlo rides and rhodanates, tanning compounds, thallium sulfate, indium, and acid in hibitors are among the products manu factured. From the nature of t he operations, a part of the burden of expense of necessity has to be considered in the light of experi mental and development work. I t is felt that such a section is justified in spite of this burden, because an adequate return should finally accrue from ma terials carried beyond the development stage to a satisfactory commercial basis. From the customer's viewpoint the Pioneer Manufacturing Section offers an attractive service for the following reasons:
EQUIPMENT U S E D AT THE PIONEEB MANOFACTUBINO PLANT OF THE GRASSELLI CHEMICAL C O ;
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The existing equipment is so complete that little, if any, new investment is required to manufacture new products, thus reducing capital charges which normally would be borne entirely by these new products, and which naturally would have to be passed along to the customer in the form of a higher price. Existing operations are sufficiently large and varied so that the overhead applicable to any single product is small. Accurate cost accounts are maintained
NEWS EDITION
APRIL 20, 1936 on each operation, thus assuring reasonable charges to the customer and providing also a basis for estimating production on a much larger scale, if and when large-scale production is desired. The section is administered by the research department and can draw upon the extensive personnel of that department for any desired assistance. Past experience with the Pioneer Manufacturing Section has been so satisfactory from the standpoint of both GrasseiL and the customer, that this section is now regarded as a permanent institution.
The Ultracentrifuge
C
ENTRIFUGAL force as great as 250,000 times gravity, produced in a new ultracentrifuge invented by The Svedberg, professor of chemistry at the University of Upsala, Sweden, and J. B. Nichols of the du Pont research staff, promises to yield important information regarding molecular weights and other fundamental data otherwise difficult to measure, in the D u Pont Experimental Station at Wilmington, Del., where this instrument has been recently installed. At the normal operating speed of 60,000 revolutions a minute, the rotor of the machine turns over about 15 times as fast as the crankshaft of an automobile engine running at top speed, and a centrifugal force of 250,000 times gravity is produced. In operating this machine, nearly an hour is required to attain normal speed, and the same time is required to come to rest. Also, at normal speed, the rotor has a peripheral velocity of more than 20 miles per minute, which is approximately one and one-half times the muzzle velocity of an ordinary 22-caliber rifle bullet. This tremendous speed of rotation is produced by oil-driven turbines integral with the rotor shaft. In operating the ultracentrifuge, the liquid material to be studied is placed in a small cell inserted in the rotor. This cell has transparent quartz windows, and in the massive steel chamber which encloses the rotor are corresponding windows or peepholes. By directing a beam of light through the windows, an observer can note the effects of the centrifugal force. In order to obtain exact measurements, photographs are taken at suitable intervals, and from these photographs the rate of settling of the dissolved substance can be calculated. Knowing the rate of settling and other readily determined charac-
teristics of the system, the size of the particles or molecules can be calculated. In taking the p h o t o g r a p h s , a camera 18 feet long is used to give an image of true size and eliminate errors of parallax. On the photographs, distances as small as 0.0025 inch are readily measured. Colored substances in colorless liquids are e a s i l y observed and their rates of settling measured. When both the dissolved substance and the s o l v e n t a r e colorless, a refractive index method may be used; that is, a beam ULTRACENTRIFUGE, of l i g h t p a s s i n g through the cell is refracted to an extent indicating the concentration of the invisible dissolved substance in that part of the cell as it settles to the bottom. From the amount of distortion of the light beam after correction, the concentration of dissolved substance and the rate of settling and particle size can be calculated. The speed of the rotor is measured by means of a stroboscope. With the ultracentrifugal technic, Svedberg and his collaborators have determined the molecular weights of various proteins. Quite unexpected results were found. Thus, contrary to all other kinds of giant molceules, many of the proteins were found to be homogeneous—that is, to consist of molecules all of the same size. No other molecular weight technic is capable of revealing this information. Another important fact, the significance of which is not yet clearly understood, is that the molecular weights of the homogeneous proteins are simple multiples of a basic unit, 34,500. That is, for some curious reason, the protein molecule appears to consist normally of 1 to 192 units having a molecular weight of 34,500. No homogeneous proteins of intermediate size have been found. Even more surprising is the fac.t that when the larger protein molecules break up under chemical attack, the weights of the fragments also fall neatly into this numerical scheme. The ultracentrifuge has also for the first time made it possible to obtain information concerning the proportions of molecules of different weights in mixtures. Finally, it has
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UPPER PART OF HOUSING ROTOR
REMOVED, SHOWING
been possible to determine the molecular weights of ordinary salt molecules, such as potassium iodate, mercuric chloride, cesium chloride, and the like, and excellent agreement is obtained with the best results by conventional methods. International Petroleum Exposition HE International Petroleum ExposiT tion through its president, W. G. Skelly, has extended a cordial invitation to the members of the AMERICAN CHEMICAL
SOCIETY to participate in the next Petroleum Exposition and Congress to be held in Tulsa, Okla., May 16 to 23, 1936. In addition to viewing the large industrial exposition, oil men from all parts of the world will be present, thus affording an opportunity for discussion of mutual problems at first hand.
Emanations The Glass Industry F r o m a F r e s h m a n Paper ET us look at the process of making glass. Common glass can be made L quite easily by the layman* * * As the liquid glass is formed, it passes into large machines which collect it and prepare it for use. The molten glass is drawn upward into the cylinders. From the cylinders, the glass *is spread onto sheets and allowed to dry * * * By heating the terminus of a rod of glass, a thin filler may be drawn to almost an infinitesimal length. This strange quality of resiliency results very readily when glass is heated to the right temperature. The result, when skimmed off the surface, is called glass wool. What
Is
Chemistry?
N THE old Kent Laboratory of Vale, under Professor Gooch, was an Irish subjanitor called William. One day he paused in his sweeping and, leaning against a hood, gave utterance in his rich brogue to this soliloquy: "What is chemistry? 'Til tell you what it is. "I fill the" big bottles out of the carboys, the assistants fill the little bottles out of the big ones, and the students pour it down the sink. That's chemistry."
I
t'LTRACENTRIFUOE
U « Ultracentrifuge proper:
LABORATORY
C = Camera;
S = Stroboscope;
C = Contrôle
C.
A.
PETERS
